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of cannabis, he's quick to explain, "The tipping point was when I started to look at the research coming out of other countries and smaller labs. [When] I started to spend time with patients who were convinced it was helping them, I realized it was a very large group of patients who seemed to be getting objective benefits. And that's what really started getting me researching it again." His research led him to Charlotte Figi, the central figure in his provocative 2013 film Weed. Charlotte has been plagued with complex seizures—nearly two an hour—since she was an infant, and the film follows a harrowing family journey to save Figi's life after being diagnosed with Dravet syndrome. Also known as Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (SMEI), this rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy was at one point causing Figi 300 grand mal seizures a week. As a last resort, the Figi family turned to medical marijuana, pitching Charlotte into the center of a national debate as the youngest medical marijuana applicant in Colorado. And though Charlotte's story has become known across the country, what many may still not fully understand, Gupta explains, is that young patients such as Charlotte are not getting intoxicated. "This isn't getting them high. [Particular strains of medical marijuana] are high-CBD concentration; they may become a little bit sedated like they would with other antiepileptic drugs," says Gupta. "The biggest misconception is that kids are get- ting stoned or high or psychoactive." Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the principal psy- choactive component in marijuana, the form of cannabis responsible for euphorias, or highs, whether smoked or ingested via edible products. On the other hand, cannabi- diol (CBD) is one of at least 60 active cannabinoids identified in cannabis, which, when isolated, can have a wide scope of medicinal uses, and does not get patients high like THC. Charlotte Figi was given a very specific, highly concen- trated CBD strain cultivated by the Stanley brothers—one of Colorado's largest marijuana growers—at their Garden of Eden grow house. The six brothers crossbred marijuana with industrial hemp, and the resulting strain, Realm Oil (which Figi would ingest under her tongue via an olive oil blend, not as smoke), was renamed by the Stanleys as "Charlotte's Web." It was so successful in combating Figi's seizures that families with similar stories have relocated to Colorado in order to legally obtain medical marijuana. Today, Charlotte is reported to have about three to four sei- zures a month. The Stanleys have since created the Realm of Caring, a nonprofit organization that provides free or low-cost cannabis therapies to families in need. It's not just celebrity doctors such as Gupta who are cham- pioning the potential of medical marijuana. Ed Bernstein, a prominent Las Vegas attorney and television show host, is applying for a dispensary license, with a 33 percent stake in La Casa Verde Operating. As a successful businessman, he sees opportunity, but the impetus for this new venture is his 25-year-old daughter, Dana, who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 3. "She's had about 200 hospital day trips," explains Bernstein. "She's had a couple dozen surgeries. Over the years, she's had her intestines removed. She is in constant pain, 24/7." While living in California during high school, nevada State Senator tick Segerblom Author of SB 374, which allowed the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries Why Senate Bill 374?: "People didn't have the ability to actually purchase medical marijuana that they were entitled to use under the Constitution." touriSt tokeS: "Las Vegas is going to be the Amsterdam of the West. Everyone is going to want to have their picture taken in front of a marijuana dispensary." allocating tax revenueS: "Education. The money frst goes to offset administrative costs, then to police costs, then it goes to education." PoliticS & Pot: "Support for medical marijuana is at 90 percent. It's incredible." congreSSwoman dina tituS Nevada, District 1 PtSD & Pot: "As a member of the vet- erans committee and the ranking member of the subcommittee on benefts, I began to hear more and more about the potential of medical marijuana for treating PTSD. I am circulating now to get signatures that will go to the Department of Health and Human Services, asking them to lift the limitations on studying the effects of marijuana. It's very restrictive now. We need to study it just like any other kind of medicine, or any other kind of drug." BuDS & Banking co-oPS: "I have signed on as a co-sponsor to Ed Perlmutter's bill that will change the banking laws so that we could have legitimate marijuana businesses operating through bank accounts." Dr. Sanjay Gupta with Josh Stanley at his family's booming Colorado grow house, in a still from Gupta's new documentary Weed 2. michiganavemag.com 135